Frequently Asked Questions

Are you looking for more information about chiropractic care and what we do? Below we have answered our most frequently asked questions. If there is anything we have missed, contact us and we will be more than happy to provide you with the answers you are after!

Chiropractors are the spinal health experts. Helping to restore proper spinal biomechanics and improving nervous system function begins with a patient’s case history. This gives the chiropractor a background about your health, such as surgeries, accidents, the onset of your condition, and other details affecting your current health. After reviewing your history and discussing your specific problem, a thorough orthopaedic, neurological, and chiropractic examination is performed. X-rays may be taken to uncover structural and functioning problems associated with the spinal column.All these examinations help us identify areas of spinal malfunction. The moving bones of the spine protect the intricate communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots. If these nervous system pathways are impaired, malfunction of the tissue and organ function throughout the body can result.The findings of these examinations are explained and a plan of chiropractic adjustments may be recommended. Progress is monitored with periodical examinations and follow-up reports.

Chiropractic works by helping to restore your own inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissue, and organs of your body are designed to function well and resist disease and ill health. The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help reduce interferences to your natural state of being healthy. A common interference to the nervous system is the twenty four moving bones of the spinal column. A loss of normal motion or position of these bones can irritate or impair the function of the nervous system. This can disrupt the transmission of controlling nerve impulses.
Award-winning Auckland researcher Dr Heidi Haavik-Taylor, who has spent years researching the effects of chiropractic adjustment on the nervous system, has said

“The process of a spinal adjustment is like rebooting a computer. The signals that these adjustments send to the brain, via the nervous system, reset muscle behaviour patterns. By stimulating the nervous system we can improve the function of the whole body.”

A chiropractic adjustment is the skill of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is fixated, “locked up”, or not moving properly. This adds motion to the joint, helping the joints to gradually regain more normal motion and function. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is to permit improved spinal function, improved nervous system function, and improved health.
There are many ways to adjust the spine. It can be done by hand, using a specially designed instrument or tables to deliver carefully directed energy. Some adjusting methods are quick, whereas others require a slow, constant or indirect pressure. Sometimes a popping sound is heard.

Chiropractic adjusting procedures are always modified to a child’s spine. Since significant trauma can occur at birth, many parents choose to have their newborns checked for any spinal health related problems. Later, learning to walk, riding a bicycle, and other childhood activities can cause spinal health related problems. Sometimes childhood health complaints that are brushed off as “growing pains” can also be traced to the spine. Regular chiropractic checkups may be able to identify these problems and help them to have the best health as their bodies are growing and help avoid some of the health complaints seen later in adults.

Many pregnant mums, recently birthed mums and babies receive chiropractic care. Mothers often find that chiropractic adjustments improve their pregnancy, relieve pain in their backs, help prepare them for childbirth and make delivery easier for themselves and their baby. Our adjusting methods are always adapted to a patient’s size, weight, age, and condition of health to provide the most suitable care and our comfy pregnancy pillows allow for best treatment for Mums while making space for growing baby.

Under Medicare’s Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) program patients are able to be covered for up to five chiropractic visits per year. Patients must be referred by their GP. Feel free to speak to us further about this option.

No. Some people can make their joints “pop,” but that’s not an adjustment! Cracking your spine is not the same as having your chiropractor assess your spine and specifically adjust selected joints. Worse, damage can occur by mobilising a joint with weakened muscles and ligaments. Adjustments are so specific even chiropractors can’t adjust themselves.

Chiropractors are required to adhere to strict and extensive educational requirements and standards to become registered health professionals in Australia.
Australian chiropractors are five year university trained, and are government registered and government regulated health professionals. A chiropractor’s education never ends. After entering practice, all chiropractors must complete continuing professional development courses and seminars to upgrade and improve their skills and to stay current on the latest scientific research.

No. We treat many patients who suffer from osteoporosis. Indeed regular chiropractic care may help to protect patients from falls (and osteoporotic fractures) by optimising joint mobility, range of motion, balance and muscle tone. To correct spinal problems with patients suffering from osteoporosis we use specific low force techniques that allow for the brittleness and fragility of the bones.

In the words of the New Zealand Government’s Inquiry, chiropractic care is “remarkably safe.” Chiropractic has an excellent safety record. It is the result of a conservative approach to health that avoids invasive procedures or addictive drugs. In relation to the treatment of neck and back pain, studies have shown that a course of chiropractic care was 250 times safer than a course of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Chiropractic Care can be extremely beneficial for the Elderly. No matter how old you are it is never too late to begin receiving treatment.As we age spinal discs joints ligaments and muscles become weaker, less hydrated and less able to withstand normal everyday stresses. As a result spinal pain from arthritis can become more prominent, injury from relatively minor events occurs and the time to heal from injuries increases.Research shows that older users of chiropractic are less likely to be hospitalised, less likely to require nursing home admission and are more likely to report a better health status and quality of life.